Counting machine



Nov.. 16, 1943. R. J. BOEDIGHElMl-:R

COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1942 s sheets-sheet 1 COUNTING MACHINEFiledbJune 1v, 1942 s sheets-sheet 2 Nov. 16, 1943. R. Y.1.BOED|GHEiM`ER 2,334,241

COUNTING MACHINE l Filed June l1'?, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 showninFig.1.1 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detailed elevational.,

Patented Nov. 16, 1943 nayincna J. Boeaigheimer, Chicago, 111'.,assignmto v,Chain Store Products Corporation, Chicago, Ill., acorporation of Delaware AppncanonJune 17, i942, serial No. 447,426 Y sclaims. (ci. 16e-s) This Vinvention relates` to improvements in ahairpin counting and discharging device, and refers speciiically to ahairpin counting and discharging device which discharges a predeterminednumber of hairpins at a time 4and inthe event that a lesser numberiofhairpins are supplied to the counting zone, the discharging mechanism isrendered inoperative.

My present invention is an improvement upon a portion ofthe inventiondescribed in United.

States Letters Patent No. 1,326,925 to S. H. Goldberg, and is adapted tobe employed inthe machine described in said patent in place `of thehairpin counting and discharging device therein described.

. In the operation-of the countingv and discharging device described inthe Goldberg patent, supra, a counting zone is` provided Awhich A'is`adapted to accommodatea predetermined maximum number of hairpins. n' Inthe operation of the device the zone is periodically emptied by theoperator Vby means of a suitable discharging means. However, inthe`event that a numberof hairpins less than the capacity of the countingzone is disposed in the counting zone when the discharge mechanism isactuated,A said les'serr number of hairpins will be discharged; -f ,1

In the present'inventionpa counting zonei's provided to accommodate apredetermined'maximum number othairpins.' However, mechanism isprovidedwhereby the discharge device willbe rendered inoperative `ifalle sser number of hairpins is supplied to the `,counting gone, and theshort-numbered group "of hairpins in the count,

ing zone will not be discharged thus eliminating the possibility of anoperator packing aninsuiicient number of hairpins a package `or` box.

other objects and advantages-.cf imfennon,f` will be apparent from vtheaccompanying drawings and Iollowingdetailed'Zdescriptionf` In thedrawings,

Fig 1 is a top planviewo counting `and discharging device. .Y I

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view View of the discharge actuating cam.

Fig. 4 is a sectional viewftakenon ,line 1-tof` Fig. 1,showing `a propernumbered group ofy hairpins just discharged `from the'countingzone, the

latter being empty.

zonecompletelylled withhairpins.'`

Fig., (i4 vis a Ytransverse sectional View taken .onf

l improved hairpin ,I

pf the kdevicel the line E-Ii of Fig. showing the discharge controlfeeler.

Fig. 7` is a transverse sectional view-taken on line 'I-'I of Fig. 5showing the discharge control pin. f

Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar'to'Fig. 4 i1- lustrating the countingzone carrying'an insuiv cient number of hairpins to actuate thedischarge Fig.' 9 is asimilar view,f illustrating the discharge cam in.discharge position.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary front elevational View of the discharge end ofthe device.

Referring indetail to the drawings, I indicates a supporting standard orfoot which is adapted to carry a plate- 2,v the plate `being secured tothe standard by means of bolt 3 threadedly engaged by nut 4.. `The plate2 isof relatively at construction and only the forward portion thereofis illustrated in the drawings. Means (not shown) 1s also provided forsupporting the rear portion of the plate. i The longitudinal axis of theplate 2 is disposed at an oblique angle "to the horizontal and thelfront. portion 'of the plate 4is provided with a discharge arm 5 whichextends substanuauyhorizontai when the plate is disposedat its properangular position. A relatively thin j elongated platform blade 6, Figs.6 and 7, is secured to the upper portion of ,thel plate 2 by Welding`or` other suitable attaching means. "1

As described in the Goldberg patent hereinbefore identified; the plate 2is adapted to function as af guideand 'in the `patented machine means isprovidedffor' disposing hairpins 'I upon the plate'2, the hairpins beingpositioned upon the plate `with the legs of the pins straddling theplate,vv and the UA-'bent `portion of the pins being supported-upontheupper `edge ofthe blade 6. The angle of inclinationo'f the plate 2 issuch that hairpins positionedat the upper portion thereof slidefbygravity downwardly toward the forward end 'of the plate.

A bar 8 is secured to the standard I and eX- tends angularly upwardly atsubstantially'rightv angles to the longitudinal axis of the plate 2, thebar being secured `by` means ofthe bolt 3` and being fixed 4in angularposition by means of pin 9 carried by the standard I which projects intoan aperture I 0 Vprovided in the bar. `A spacing member IIissecuredadjacent the upper portion of bar 8 by means of bolt I2 andsaid spacing member in turns supports a block I3. f The block I3 isdisposed substantially parallel toY the upper edge ofthey blade 6 andsaid block carries a relatively I4 which is positioned at right anglesto the plane of the plate 2, the platform being disposed immediatelyabove the upper edge of the blade 6, providing a slot I5 between theupper edge of the blade and the lower sur face of the platform I4.

A guide bar I6 is secured to the block I3 by means of screw I1, theguide bar being spaced laterally from the block by means of spacer I8which embraces the shank of the screw I1. The plane of thevbar I6 is insubstantial alignment with the plane of the plate 2, and the lower edgeof said bar is spaced from the upper edge Iof the blade 6 to provide aspace I9. TheA oppol site end of bar I6 is carried by a suitable support(not shown) so as to maintain thebar being disposed one above the other.Rigidly secured to the shaft 39 by means of pin 4I is a lever 42 whichis secured to said shaft adjacent one end thereof. The lever 42 ispreferably constructed. of substantially rigid material. Secured to theshaft 4D by means of pin 43 is a lever 44 which may be constructed of asubstantially rigid material. The lever 44 is secured to the shaft 40 atsubstantially its midportion.

A pin 45 is secured to the lever 44 adjacent `7one end thereof, saidvpin extending downwardly from the lever. The lowermost end of the pin45 is 'substantially flat as indicated at 48 in uniformly spacedthroughout'its length from the" blade 6. The arrangement is such thatwhen the hairpins 1 have been depositedupon the upper edge of the blade6 as has been hereinbefore described, said hairpins slide downwardlyalong the upper edge of the blade 6 and are confined in the spaces I9and I5, thus preventing the U-bend of .one hairpin from beingjammedabove the U-bend of the next adjacent hairpin. In this manner asingle row of hairpins is suspended upon the blade Ii.Y i A Acontrolelement 23. is pivotallyvsecured to block I3, the` pivotalattachment comprising a screw 2|. The control element 20 comprises aframe having opposite side plates 22 `and V23, i which are spaced fromeach other bymeans of blocks- 24 and 25, and are securedto said blocksby means of screws 26. Adjacent one end of the control element 26, a pin21 is rotatably carried, said pin being rigidly secured toa dischargeactuated lever 28, which latter isl constructed of a relativelyresilient metal strip. The lower portion of the strip 28 is forked asshown best at 29 in Fig. 10, the armsof the forked. portionof themember'Z straddling the arm 5., The opposite end ofthe pin 2l is ofsemi-cylindrical construction as shown best at 30 in Fig. 3, saidsemi-cylindrical portion functioning as a cam when the lever, 28 isrocked about. the pivot .pin

l'sladeJ spring 3l is vsecured to. the :block -13 byrmean's ofkscrewsw33, said screws extending through a. retaining ,member 3,3.Aiportion. of the Spring ,3l overhangs Vthe end oflbloek I3 and carriesa cam follower memberllxwhichis secured to `the overhanging portionzofthe, spring tI'k by means of screws 35. Thearrangementis such that whenthe arm 28 is rocked-in a counterclockwise` directiomFig., 3, aboutrthepimt pin 21,r the cam 30 bears upon the lower :faceof the camfollowerr34. A, forceris thus` exerted tending to` move the camAfollower and* thecam laterally with respect to eachother. In View of thefact that the cam follower is securedto the spring 3I, which in turn,secured to the rigidly positioned block` I3, the major `portion of thelateral movement is taken up bythe pin ZI-which is carried upon the endportion of the vcontrol element 2l).V Hence,rthe control element, 2i! isrocked about the pivot 2I in a clockwise direction, `Fi'gjA 3. An armY36 is carried upon. block I3 and islfprovided .Withanlateralextension31 which" overhangs" the control elementl 20. A set screw' 38is threadedly positioned, in the. overhanging member 31 andthe endof-saidscrew functions as a stop for the control element ,20

` when the same is rocked,l

are journalledin the wallsr22 @36.13, said. shafts.

Fig. 5, but adjacent one side thereof the pin` 45' terminates in a point41. Threadedly positioned in an overhanging portion 48 of the block 25is a set screw 49, the lower end of which is adapted to bear upon theupper portion .of the lever 44 adjacent the end thereof on the oppositevinsaid slot and maybe adjustably disposed thereinby means of the screwmember 54 which functionsto confine the lever 5I by the washers 55andr56 .carried upon pin 52. Pin 52 is so disposed as to have thetapered end 53 thereof extend through the aperture 50 inthe platform I4.A

set screw 51 is carried by the lever 42 intermediate itsY length, theend 0f said set screw being adaptedto bear upon the upper surface ofthelever 44.y A pin 58 is -transversely rdisposed between plates 22 and 23and a coil spring 59 embraces said pin, one end of said spring beingadapted rto bear. upon the upper portion of lever 42 and the other lendthereof being anchored uponthe .plate 23. rI Lher function of spring 53Yis to urge lever 42 toward lever 44 thereby causing the end of set`screw `51 to resiliently bear upon the upper surface of the lever 44.

vInY operation, a plurality of-hairpins 1 are continuouslyV depositedupon therupper edge ofthe made 6 by means such as described in theGekr-v bergp'atent hereinbefore identified, The hair pins slidedownwardly upon the blade 6 with their U-bends conned in the spaces I9and I5 untilthe first "pin, of the'. group of "hairpins contacts thepoint 41 of pin 45' which normally contacts,

normallyl in `contact with the'upperaedge 0f bladeB. l

. It will 'be `noted that under normal conditions that is,--w'hen noneofthe hairpin's'ha's'f becomejammed upon blade` 6, a predeterminednumber' of hairpins 1 will be confined nfthe space I5fbetween pin 52 andthe 'point'41 of pin 45; This zone is hereinref'erred to as the'counting zone.

.. ofcourse, a. greater or lesser number-of hairpis f the tension ofspring 59,.

Y discharged.

may be confined in\the1.cou`nting zonebyadjust- `ing. the. position ofpin' 52-inslot 5|, 4as hereinbefore described.` With a free flow-ofhairpins along the` blade 6, hairpins, will'be disposed between pin45fand the upper edgexof blade when the free end of the control'elementis in1upraised POSitOm' y 1 v WhenLthe-arm v28;is released by theoperator,

the control element-tends;A to return to lnormal .lengthofl point 41being less,than the V.thickness of` the hairpin at-its, U-bent-vportion.y Pin 45 and hence the end of lever- 44 which carries said pin israised.This,` `in vturn, tendsto raise `set screw l, rocking lever 4,2 aboutits' pivot against ,.Thefree .end of lever 42, and hencerpin 52 israised above its normal position ya distancegreater than the saidthickness of the hairpin by reason of thegreater effective length oflever 42 `than that of lever 44 fromtheir adjacent points of. pivot at3'9 and respectively, therebympermitting'those hairpins connedfi'n thecounting Zone to slideoif the end of blade 6 and'becaug'htby the arm `5.In this manner a predetermined number of hairpins may be periodically..discharged andmade available tothe operator.

If, however, 'the hairpins are "obstructed in their travel along blade 6and a number "of hairpins are discharged to lthe counting zoneinsuicie'nt to completely flll said zone and leave no hairpin beneaththe pin 45, point 41 comes to rest on the edge `of blade 6, and taperedend 53 of stop 52remains lowered sufficient to impede passage ofhairpins, with the result that the group of hairpins in the countingzone cannot be discharged to arm 5 by the manipulation of arm 28.

Referring particularly to Figs. 8 and 9, the operation of my device willbe apparent under the circumstances hereinbefore noted. With a group 60of hairpins l in the counting zone and no hairpins having followed thehairpins constituting the group 60, rocking of the arm 28, ashereinbefore described will Iraise the free end of control element thusraising pin 45. When,'how ever, the arm 28 is released and the controlelement 2l) returns to its normal position, the pin 45 and hence thelever 44 will return to normal position.V There being no` raising forceexerted upon lever 42, pin 52 Will not be raised from its normalposition and the group 60 will not be Due to the resilience of'spring 3land arm 28,

-rend'er said feeler inoperative Aas'` a stop; a

second stop carried by said control element and'normally disposed in thepath ofV travel of `said articles, said second stop being'spaced `fromsaid zfeelerto conne a predetermined number, of-articles Mbetween saidfeelerand said, secondstOp, means for returning said control ele-.mentto-normal position whereby said feeler con- Vtactsj one ofgsaidarticles adjacent the'group of said arm may be moved to the positionshown.

in dotted lines in Fig. 5 to'permit the complete removal of thedischarged hairpins upon the arm 5 by the operator. Y'

Although my invention has been specifically described in conjunctionwith the handling of hairpins, it is to be understood that it is equallyapplicable to the handling of like articles such as paper clips, safetypins and the'like.

I claim as my invention: Y

l. In a device for `handling hairpins or like articles thecombinationwith means for feeding forwardly a plurality of sucharticles, a movable control element disposed adjacent the path Voftravel of said articles, a feeler carried by said control elementnormally disposed in the path of travelv ofV said articles to functionas a stop against which said articles strike, means for moving saidcontrol element to Iarticlesconfined between said feeler andstop to`.prevent return of said feeler` to normal position, `means connectingsaid feeler and stopwhereby failure of the Yfeeler to return tonormalposition holds said stop out of itsY normal position to permit dischargeof said predetermined number of articles past Ysaid stop.

2. In a device for handling hairpinsor like ar- -ticles the combinationwith means `for feeding forwardly a plurality of such articles, amovable control-,element disposed adjacent ,the path of travelof saidarticles, a feelery carried by said control ,element normally disposedin theqpath ,of travel of said articles to `function asa stop,against-,which said articles-strike, means for moving said controlelement torender said feeler inoperative asa stop and permitfarticlesvto pass said feeler, a second stop carired by said'control element andnormally disposedin the path of travel of said articles to preventfurther .passage of said articles past said feeler, means for Areturningsaid control elementto normal position WlflerebyY saidfeeler contacts`one of 'said articles to holdthe same, the contacted article holdingthe feeler out of its normal position, means connecting said feeler andstop whereby failure of the feeler to return to normal position holdssaid stop out of its normal position to permit discharge of saidarticles previously held by said stop.

3. In a device for handling` hairpins or like articles the combinationwith means for feeding forwardly a plurality of such articles, a pairof` levers, one of said levers being influenced by movement of the otherlever, a feeler carried by said last mentioned lever, a stop carried bysaid other lever against Which the articles strike, and

means for changing the position of the feelercarrying lever by thepresence of one of said articles in contact with the feeler carriedthereby to render the stop carried by the other lever inoperative.

4. In a device for handling hairpins or like articles the combinationwith means for feeding forwardly a plurality of such articles, a pair oflevers, means carried upon one of said levers normally contacting theother of said levers whereby movement of said latter moves the former, astop carried upon the last mentioned lever against which the forwardlymoved articles strike, a feeler carried upon the` other lever normallypositioned in the path of travel of said forwardly moved articles andspaced from said stop, means for moving both of `said levers to raisesaid feeler from its normal position to permit articles to passtherebeneath, and means for returning said levers to` an alteredposition whereby said feeler rests upon one of said articles to preventthe return of the stop to its article stopping position.

5. In a device for handling hairpins or like articles which comprises, aguide along which said a pair of levers positioned above said guide, oneof said levers carrying a feeler and the other carrying a stop, saidfeeler and stop being spaced from each other along the guide, saidfeeler and stop being nor- Vmally -positioned in the path lof'travel ofsaid articles, said stop-carrying lever being in contact with said`feeler-carrying lever whereby Inove-l ment of the latter toward theformer causes movement 'of the former, means yfor .raising'saidfeeler-carrying lever to permit passageof said articles into contactwith said stop, means vfor llowering said feeler-carryinglever, said.stop-carrying lever beingA raised to permit passage there-V by ofarticles when said vfeeler contacts articles upon said-guide when it isloweredand said-stopcarrying lever being maintained with the stop rinnormal position when the feeler is vunobstructed by anylof said articleswhen it 4is lowered.

6. In `ar -device for `handling hairpins or like articles whichcomprises, a guide -along which said 'articles move lorwardly, a stop`-againstvvhich -said articles strike, a ffeeler normally in cont-act`vv-itlfi said guide andrspaced from said stop along said guide, meanstor raising said 'eeler -to per-- mit articles to pass`therebeneathalong said guide, means for lowering -said 'feeler, and`means as-sol`ciating said freeler andstop to raise said -stop topermitlthe passage of articles therebeneath when theieeler upon beingiov/ered -is 'prevented 'by one of lsaid articles from contacting saidguide.

7i. InV a device for handling `vhairpins -or 'ilike :articleswhichcomprises, a guidealong 'which said articles move forwardlyfa leverpositioned above said guide, 4a stop 'carried by said lever against`'whichsaid articles strike, a second -lever posi-- Vtioned above saidguide, -a -feeler carried *by said second lever normally-in contact`with said guide and 'spaced:along said .guide from' :said istop; meanslorraising saidffeeler-carry-ing lever topermit'articlesfto pass beneathsaid f feeler, alongfsaid guide,

means' tor lowering said ,feeler-carrying lever,

:said feelerlcarrying lever' contacting saidlstop- 'carrying .clever`.whereby "said stop-'carryingilever is raised therebyraising said stopto permit passage of articles ntherebeneath When the feeler luponbeinglowered is prevented by one `of said articles from contacting saidguide.

8.' In a device ifor handling .liairpinsor like iarltic'les 'whichcomprises, fa vguide along which `s L id articles movey forwardly, alever positioned abo Ie `rying lever'contactin'g'saidstop-carrying'lever intermediate the ylength of `the "stop-carryinglever Y `wherebysaid stop-'carrying lever'is raised thereby raising saidstop I'to permit 'passage of articles therebeneath when ythe ifeelerupon being lowered is prevented by one of said "articles yfrom'contacting said guide.

RAYMOND J. 12.oEnICfHinMER.'

